Choices and Consequences

Well happy holidays and all that good stuff. I'm not sure when the last time I wrote. Maybe 2 weeks ago which would mean I missed all the holidays. But that's okay! I have found it harder to write emails as frequently. I believe this is reason we get Nephi jumping from like mid 20s-30s to his age of 60 or 70 in his life in the Book of Mormon. In the thick of it it's just difficult to have the desire. The beginning and the end is easy though(and okay maybe I'm over exaggerating and I know Nephi wasn't writing down what was going down in real time but just have fun with me here!).

Christmas Eve was single digit weather and with the wind chill it was -11. So it was COLD. We took boiling water and threw it in the air and watched it evaporate in the air... I think it evaporates... right? I'm using the correct stage in the water cycle? Whatever it is it definitely vanished.

Christmas was awesome though! I so much appreciated all the Christmas cards I received from aunts and uncles and my family and grandparents! (and yes Murline you are one of my grandparents I'm so grateful for you and love you so much!!) And also can't forget about the Owens' family! So so grateful. We all bought each other gifts here as well. Elder Anderson bought me pair of led lights with a remote that can change colors haha. It's fun we can now have disco dance parties.

New Years Eve and New Years were slow. We had normal work days but not a soul wanted to talk to us haha. But! The day before we were able to baptize Steven Downs. It was wonderful to be a part of that whole process. It was kind of a quick turn around and a mid week baptism. The decision was made Monday night, interview was Tuesday and baptism Wednesday. It really was so great. I'm so blessed to have been able to see 4 people come to the waters of baptism during my time here in Fairfield. Since September! The Lord is merciful and is extending His hand to many people at this time!!

I am so grateful for the new year. New Year's Resolutions are so fun!!! It feels so real and so doable. The hope and the drive that comes around this time of year to make changes and to be better is my favorite. I've made some more goals and am so very excited to do my best to achieve them. Making and striving to achieve goals is joyful. If we never set goals in life then we have no direction!

I want to share something I learned this week. President Sturm gave a devotional about this in regards to the Fall of Adam and Eve. Too often in the church we claim that Satan's "plan" was to force us to do good so that we would return to live with God. That is a wrong claim. If we read from the book of Moses we see what Satan really aimed to do... Satan says he would "Redeem ALL mankind that not one soul would be lost". In essence, Satan would take consequence out of choice. He would take away law. Christ redeems us as we exercise faith and repentance and make and keep covenants. Satan was not like that. He wanted to take away agency but not by taking our choices away but by taking consequence away. He's the same being he's always been. That's his work now. He wants us to believe in the unfairness of consequence. He wants us to leave consequence aside and do whatever we choose to do. I believe true freedom is choosing to do God's work and further His purposes. It yields the most liberating consequences and helps us grow the most. I just love this truth. Agency and freedom requires certain things to happen. They are-

• The ability to choose
• Opposition
• Law
• Knowledge of Good and Evil

So if you want to be more free and exercise more agency, learn the laws of God. Learn about opposition. Read 2 Nephi chapter 2! It very clearly defines these very things. Understand what is good, and what is evil. Sometimes it is difficult in the small things but I was reading a book recently written by Ronald A. Rasband and he talked about how when we are keeping our covenants, our relationships with other people will improve. But as we begin to disregard our sacred covenants, we will notice relationships around us begin to crumble and fall. So in an aid to better find out what is good vs. what is evil, look around yourself. How are your relationships? How they are will be a good indicator of if you are choosing the good. And we NEED to allow ourselves and other people the freedom to choose. They can choose to do as they want. There are consequences for choices but it is not our place to 100% restrict someone's ability to choose. That defeats agency and frustrates the plan of God.

Just a few thoughts from this week! I'm grateful to be here in Iowa! Fairfield Iowa is the bomb. Transfers are next week so I might be gone before long but who knows!

Love y'all!

Elder Hixon